Let’s Hope The Hull Doesn’t Crack

The only thing that rumbled more than the earthquake in Indonesia last week was the Indian Ocean. A gigantic storm turned the forecasting maps to a rarely seen colour, that of white. And white was not the colour of truce, nor of heroism, it symbolised the coming of a devilishly serious and downright dangerous swell. Nice to know the forecasters don’t have to adhere to old fashioned cinema style symbolism eh?

As typical of the nutter Temple Rats, they head straight for it.

The Bulan Baru rocked up down and from side to side as they crossed the Wallace Line. The boats creaking timbers lulled the more comfortable sea farers to sleep while the less experienced had their complexions turned green. With each hour the height of the bow’s recurring lift and drop increased and the eager surfers awoke to the crash of the hull on the huge swells long before the coming of daylight. When the skies finally showed colour the Rats witnessed a rare sight… the reefs they’d expected to surf were too big and too dangerous to surf. They were maxed out. The archipelago experienced its biggest recorded swell and even the maddest of the surfing nutters onboard the Bulan Baru chose to remain just where they were, onboard.

In the late afternoon they came across a gigantic rolling wave that though dangerous, looked somewhat manageable. The surfers darted in and out between rogue sets to catch a few waves. Caught inside by a set, Jay Davies was dragged across the reef and almost drowned. It was then that big wave surfer, Jamie Mitchell got everyone out of the water. It was too dangerous – the swell was to be left alone.

Over the following days the swell decreased rapidly and the boys were able to sample surf of less death-defying proportions. Alas, the ocean was empty at its most extreme and exciting moments.